Bills WR Steve Johnson celebrated a touchdown Sunday by imitating Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg. It drew a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty, and Johnson admitted after the game it was a "stupid decision." What did you think of the actual celebration -– was it harmless fun, or did Johnson cross a line?
When I first saw Stevie Johnson's TD celebration, I was amused but I said to myself that he better back this up. I've seen too many players have fun -- and that's what it seems like -- by mocking someone or something personal for all to judge. Like when Falcons DE John Abraham did the "championship belt" gesture after sacking Aaron Rodgers in the 2010 playoffs, only to have Rodgers light them up when all was said and done.
Sometimes harmless fun comes back to bite you like it did Johnson. I don't think what he did was malicious or even mean. But when we're young, we're told to not write checks we can't cash and Johnson's bounced at the worst time for him and the Bills.
I found it to be classless, and the fact it was premeditated left an even worse taste in my mouth.
Burress served more than a year in prison for the self-inflicted crime and missed the birth of a child. The sentence he received struck many as extreme given the nature of the crime, and it's not something I would expect his brethren in the league to mock in such a way. Johnson made himself look silly and clownish by doing it; it doesn't reflect well upon him or his team.
Some things are better left alone and not dragged on to the field of play. This, to me, clearly is one of them.
It's easy to get up on Mt. Pious about the celebration -- especially when the guy who provided the performance later dropped a potential game-winning TD -- but lighten up, everybody. It was off-color, but funny. If people want to express outrage over something related to Plaxico's little faux pas, I encourage them to focus on the fact he had to spend 20 months in jail for something that hurt no one but himself.
Stevie Johnson crossed the line. His actions didn't represent the excitement of scoring a touchdown. It was in poor taste. The players have to understand they are a big influence on young people. Stevie Johnson comes on my radio show occasionally, and he really is a class act. What got into him I don't know, but it wasn't a highlight of a great weekend of football around the country.
Was it the best move? No. Immature? Probably. But let's not blow it out of proportion. Players do things in the moment of exhilaration and don't always exhibit the best judgment at those times. Think about when you get really good news. You end up calling a girl you went to Red Lobster with three years ago and telling her about it. Then you wonder why the heck you just did that. If Stevie Johnson's touchdown celebration was planned, then chalk it up to a player who's been slumping badly wanting to make a statement. If Johnson did cross the line, then Plaxico Burress, or Johnson's teammates, should mention it to him, not us.
This stuff is rather harmless and I see the humor in it. But if you are going to perform a celebration like that, you'd better catch a deep post late in the game when your team is driving for a winning score.
The best retaliation for Burress would have been to celebrate the win by pretending to shoot himself in the hands like Johnson did in the fourth quarter.